Ripe Mango Chronicles

In the past 5 days we've spent over 12 hours in church, and by we I mean all of us, the boys and Jubilee included. Kenol and the rest of the church staff led a conference and revival services every night this week. Each night was incredible in it's own way. Truly I tell you, you could not have been in the building and not felt the Lord's presence this week. One the second night Pastor James Alcindor was speaking and called out to someone in the crowd, "There is someone here who struggles with thoughts of suicide. You are constantly in a battle for your life. The Lord loves you and wants to deliver you from this tonight. If I'm speaking to you come forward." A young woman slowly made her way down the aisle, with tears in her eyes. Pastor James walked out to meet her, and spoke powerful words of love and encouragement over her, and then prayed over her. It was such a powerful moment. I tried to imagine how she must have felt, to be called out by God in that...

When I first came to Haiti in 2004 the orphanage was full of adorable little kids. At that time the majority of the kids were between the ages of 4 and 9. It was seriously the perfect age group for an orphanage, the kids were SO EXCITED about every activity, everything I did was amazing, every activity was fun, they just wanted to spend time with me, sit with me, hold my hand and gaze up at me like I was a super hero. I would walk through the door and hear cheers, literally CHEERS from all over. It was a glorious time to be alive! Slowly those 9 year olds became pre-teens, I wasn't quite as awesome anymore but I could still talk them into playing games and singing songs. A few more years passed by and all those adorable children became pimply faced teenagers with raging hormones and wild mood swings. There were no cheers when I walked in during those lovely years, it was more like groans and dirty looks. I believed deep down they still loved me - but it didn't alwa...

Disclaimer: If you believe in an easy, rose coloured Christian life, and want to remain in that beautiful bubble filled with gumdrops and unicorns please do not continue reading this post, because this post is going to talk about real life. Let me just start by saying being a Christian is hard: in any country, in any circumstance. I’m selfish, I want what’s best for me, I want what benefits me, I want to feel appreciated for what I do, I want to feel valued and honoured. I’m a sinner who gets up every morning and tries hard to pull off my earthly desires and put on Christ. I’m successful, sometimes, but often I try to put Christ on, on top of my earthly desires. That doesn’t work out very well. It makes for complicated Christianity. I am currently reading the book Interrupted: When Jesus Wrecks Your Comfortable Christianity by Jen Hatmaker Yesterday morning I read this passage before I went out into the world harvest field. When Jesus’ followers asked...

Nine years ago today, at the tender age of 24 I boarded a plane in Toronto, Ontario and began this beautiful adventure in Titanyen, Haiti! So so much has happened since then. As I've been reminiscing today I wrote out a number of my favourite memories. There are so many more I know, but here are a few!  God moments and special memories from years 1 - 8 in Haiti: Attending the first ever high school graduation from MOH school  Attending my first kindergarten graduation and being SHOCKED by the dances Attending the ground breaking ceremony in Bercy.  Reading the eulogy at Maggie's funeral. The kids Christmas pageant - they still remember all the songs  Hiking to Simonette with my parents. Visiting Clifton in California  Jerry, Paula, Matthew and Eric's trip Good Sam kids staying here post hurricanes Learning how to switch gears, and hit the gas on a motorcycle before learning where the brakes are - and driving past the van der Mark's yard screaming m...

I have been on a new journey these past few months, a journey down paths I’ve never seen. I want to share it with you. I want to tell you how truly joyful and thankful I am. The Lord has been so good to us. The Lord is so good to us. The Lord will be so good to us. So. Very. Good. He loves us in ways we never knew possible. He opens doors we didn’t even know existed. He makes a way where there is no way.   He blesses us, He hears us, He speaks to us. Not only that, He even sends encouragers with messages for us in our time of need. He cares about us, and the intimate details of our lives. He is a good, good, Father, and I am so very loved by Him. I also want to tell you how deeply burdened and terribly sad I am. Satan is truly against us. We are in the midst of a full on war. We cannot see the fighting but oh can I feel it. I feel it. I feel it. I am surrounded by it. I am in the midst of it. There seems to b...

I remember feeling shocked when my grandfather passed away. It didn’t seem right, it happened so suddenly, it was too soon. As I processed through my emotions that day, I was surprised those feelings were my immediate response. Why? Because my grandfather was 101 years old when he died. It didn’t matter that he had lived a very long life, nor that he was ready to meet his maker, looking forward to it even. None of that mattered to me, it still felt wrong. We all know death is a natural part of this life, but somehow it always feels unnatural. The feelings of injustice are magnified when we see babies, children and young men and women die. We’re left dazed, confused, befuddled. Why? Why? Why? The word rings loud on repeat in my mind. I have seen death over and over and over in Haiti, yet I know I’ve only experienced a fraction of what the general population experience in a lifetime. Why? Why? Why? The word rings loud on repeat in my mind. I sat with a group of Haitian women ...

Greetings friends!  It's been so long since I have written or blogged, I don't even know where to begin. But big things are happening that need to be shared!  I will start with my main focus these days, which is Jubilee.  Jubilee Louise-Anne Bernard was born November 5th and has been an incredible addition to our family. She was born in Canada, with Kenol by my side. He clapped, yelled and laughed all at the same time as she was placed on my chest for the first time. We were able to introduce her to the boys within the hour via FaceTime and then in person 3 weeks and 3 days later when we flew home with her. We have all adjusted well to having a little princess, as daddy calls her, in the house. The boys are incredible with her, very interested in everything and more than willing to help take care of her. The orphanage kids love her and come up to visit with her often. When we flew home my mom came back with us, and my dad came two weeks later. They have been very h...